Chapter 275: A Glimpse of Three People, Unexpected Guests

(The troublesome writer has already left Shenzhen, so from now on, the saved drafts will automatically update, with a large Chapter of about 5K words being posted daily around 9:30. I’ll also squeeze time to write during the New Year so that updates can continue after I return. Love you all, thanks for your continued support!)

The movie’s box office performance is related to the theme, the story, the big production, the director, and the publicity. Its relation to stars is comparatively less significant. Apart from doing a good job acting, the stars serve more as topics or gimmicks. The fame and popularity of stars do not directly correlate with box office success.

Just like many celebrities from talent shows, not to mention the most famous winners and runners-up, even contestants whom ordinary people have never heard of, have popularity on platforms like Baidu Tieba that outshine veteran stars by a wide margin. But their box office earnings are barely noticeable. Many TV stars who have gained popularity from successful TV series often end up taking supporting roles or making brief appearances, and when they lead, the box office reaches only tens or hundreds of thousands, which is a loss level.

Because they rose to fame through television, and TV is free. Therefore, fans can be enthusiastic in life and online, but die-hard fans willing to spend money to support idols are precious and few in number. Even if there are a million such die-hard fans, it’s only supporting a few million in box office revenue. It’s something that even Li Yuchun, the evergreen superstar among talent show celebrities, couldn’t achieve.

Of course, this is also related to the audience demographics. The audience for talent show stars mainly consists of middle school students and housewives; TV stars’ audience mainly comprises housewives and middle-aged to elderly people, who are not the main movie-going demographic.

Even the stars considered most influential can see a significant drop in attendance if they don’t perform in their signature genres. For example, if Ge You doesn’t perform comedy, Jet Li doesn’t do martial arts, and they act in smaller literary films, the box office results are unremarkable.

However, while stars cannot single-handedly support the success of a movie’s box office, they can certainly fill the opening night with fans. At tonight’s premiere of "Springtime Leaked," most of the audience are fans, creating a very lively atmosphere when the stars take the stage.

Sitting in the front row, Li Yan occasionally glanced back at the audience, searching for Wen Qianyi, wondering if she would come.

Since Zhou Yuan is an unknown director, all the limelight is stolen by the stars, but he doesn’t mind. Having such an opportunity to shoot a feature film is good enough for him. After their segment was over, Qiao Pan represented the crew and production side to thank all creators and staff.

The audience doesn’t recognize him and has no interest in what he says, so he kept his speech as concise as possible, focusing on conveying key points to the media. This year, Heavenly Film will invest in shooting at least five movies, and if Springtime’s box office return is good, they might even invest in two movies with billion-level budgets!

This news doesn’t have much of a shock value to media and entertainment reporters who are accustomed to showbiz boasting levels. But the response from movie fan viewers was positive, considering that only about two movies with billion-level budgets are produced domestically each year.

Next up was watching the movie. Due to tight production schedules, none of the creators, including Li Yan, had seen the finished product beforehand; this was the first time for everyone.

But Li Yan had already read the script, leaving no suspense about the plot. He was more interested in seeing Zhou Yuan’s directing capabilities—whether he managed the plot and actors properly or made a mess, and whether it was worth it to approach him for future filmmaking. But that consideration could be left to Heavenly Film and the audience to gauge atmosphere and effect; professional scrutiny was unnecessary for him.

He turned back a few times but still couldn’t spot Wen Qianyi. With the movie starting, he felt somewhat disappointed. Today’s premiere was supposed to be her moment to shine, yet she hadn’t shown up.

Just as he turned back again in disappointment, his phone vibrated. Upon checking, the message was from Wen Qianyi.

Was she about to say she couldn’t come? Or outright express a lack of interest in attending?

After pressing to view, the message content made him smile with relief.

"Stop looking around, I’m here. Enjoy the movie!"

Evidently, Wen Qianyi not only came but also kept tabs on his every move, maybe due to lighting and angle issues, or maybe intentionally avoiding his sight, making it impossible for him to spot her from the front.

"I’m relieved now that you’re here; only too bad you couldn’t be on stage."

Since she was present, and given she was attentive, Li Yan felt at ease and immersed himself in watching the movie.

Just as he concentrated on the film, his phone vibrated again. He took it out, thinking it was another message from Wen Qianyi, but surprisingly, it was from Yu Xiao Di.

"Uncle, how did you know I was here? I wanted to give you a surprise. Too bad you didn’t get on stage; I had prepared to pretend to be a fan and present flowers to you."

Li Yan broke into a sweat; he was focused on finding Wen Qianyi earlier. Was Yu Xiao Di here too?

Thinking about being observed by two girls without realizing it, he felt a bit negligent!